Girl Meets Turnabout
by carathay
Summary: Rucas Story - Now moved to after Girl Meets Legacy. Lucas and Maya take a risk to figure of if they really have a spark between them. And find out that they don't. Lucas decides it's time to figure out how things stand with Riley and Maya starts to wonder if she'd dismissed Farkle from her attentions too soon... REWRITE - Sorry but I had to.
1. Chapter 1

Time for a Rucas fic… Don't worry that the beginning has Lucas and Maya together, it will only be long enough to separate them. This is a rewrite now that Girl Meets Legacy has changed the playing field.

Maya and Lucas were sitting together on her bed. They were alone. If her mother had known Maya had a boy in her room when she wasn't home, she'd probably have had a fit. However, it wouldn't have been necessary because things were not going the way Katy would have expected.

Maya and Lucas broke apart from a passionate kiss. Or, at least an attempt at a passionate kiss. It was their third try and didn't appear to have gone any better than the others. Lucas took a deep breath to gather his thoughts. "Still nothing?" he asked.

Maya grinned weakly. "Not a thing. No desire. No passion. No little queasy feeling in my stomach that made we wonder what would happen if we did more. You?"

Lucas grinned too. "Still nothing here either. I like you. I care about you. I still see you under those stars and part of me wants to be in love with you. But, well, that's it. Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. I unfortunately feel the same way. I mean, wish I felt differently. You're cute and wonderful Lucas. I like you. I like you so much that it's scary. I want to love you too. But... but there's no real spark."

Lucas nodded in acknowledgement. "You know, when you suggested that I come over here when your mom wasn't home, I thought you were crazy. And I figured that if Riley ever found out, she'd kill us."

"She's not going to find out. But I figured we needed a bit of time alone to figure out how we actually felt. And I was pretty sure this was how it was going to work out so I wasn't too worried that you'd radish me or something."

"That's ravish, not radish. And no, that wasn't going to happen. Even if there had been something real between us, well, I'd have behaved myself."

"Sure you would have… And, ravish, radish, whatever. Just so you know, Hopalong, I only like one of those two things... Ah nuts. The banter isn't even fun anymore."

"So, now what do we do?" asked Lucas.

"Accept the fact that we'll never be more than friends, I guess. Not that we were ever really 'going together' past Riley pushing us into all of this. So, we stay friends and, well, that's it."

"Good. Losing you as a friend isn't an option. Hey, this is still kind of a breakup. Aren't we supposed to be more upset or something?" Lucas was almost laughing at the idea.

Maya grinned as well. "That's what TV and movies tell us. But the fact that we're not is probably a good sign that we were never really together."

Lucas pushed himself off the bed. He needed to walk and think. "I'm a little scared about tomorrow."

Maya rolled onto her stomach and kind of kicked her feet in the air. "What? Our daily 'who loves who' check in with Riley? Seems like all we have to do say is that you and I don't like each other and everyone's problems are solved."

"You'd think so. But she's so worried about friendships falling apart that I don't think she'll let it go. She'll refuse to believe us."

"She'll have to accept it… eventually. Hey, speaking of the friendly little princess, how do you feel really about her? I mean now, after all this back and forth Texas craziness?"

"Well, before she decided to tell me that I liked you more than her, I liked her a lot. We always seemed to be so nervous together but I think that if she and I had sat and kissed like that, I'd have felt all the feelings I didn't feel with you."

"That's what I thought. What about after she decided you were more her brother than her boyfriend?" Maya asked.

"Honestly? I mean, I don't want to hurt your feelings…"

"Yes, honestly. And I don't think you can hurt my feelings about all of this because as it turned out, I didn't have any. So, out with it…." Maya still braced herself. She might not have feelings for this big lug but she was still pretty sure her ego was about to take a hit.

"I liked her even more. With the pressure off, she could talk to me again. And she danced with me. That was a LOT of fun. She was normal fun Riley instead of nervous Riley. That was really exciting. I.. well, I really wanted to kiss her on that dance floor. I think the fireworks would have lit up the sky." Lucas's eyes kind of went dreamy as he thought about how they're finally been the way he'd always wanted, aside from the fact that suddenly they weren't dating.

Yep, she was right. That admission by Lucas did sting a bit. But not as much as it would have if their kisses had gone differently. "Again, it's what I thought was going on. And thanks to Farkle pushing her to admit it, we knew that she still like your. I think giving you away to me helped her realize how much she wanted to keep you."

"She didn't act like it." Lucas replied, a bit annoyed.

"She was being all noble and self-sacrificing. She does that a lot. Dealing with it is a hazard of being her friend. It's still worth it in the end, but it can grate on your nerves sometimes. So, cowboy, you have one more thing to figure out now."

"And that is?" Lucas asked.

"You need to figure out what you want. You knew before today that you liked us both. But today's little experiment proved that thinking you like someone and actually liking them isn't the same thing."

"I could repeat this same experiment with her." Suggested Lucas.

"I don't think so, cowboy. You and I are both tougher than she is. We were prepared to deal with the answer whichever way it went. I'm not sure what would happen to Riles if you kissed her like you kissed me and then realized that you weren't in love with her."

"Things would fall apart…." Said Lucas sadly.

"That they would." replied Maya. "Riley already hurt herself pretty bad by starting all of this. And you'll never have a stable relationship unless she's convinced that you and I were never meant to be. Doubt and fear will always follow her."

"So what do I do?" asked Lucas.

"You figure out for sure how you feel – without kissing her. And then you need to tell Riley in a way that she can't deny it. Trust me, that's the only way to get past her stubborn streak. You have to convince her that you don't feel the way she thinks you feel."

Lucas nodded. "I know one thing that I don't want. I don't want to go back to a relationship where both of us are so nervous we can't even enjoy being together."

"So, no more relationships then?" said Maya.

"I wasn't done. I do want to try dating Riley again. See if we can make it work."

Maya looked up from her bed. "You're aware that those two things can't exist in the same universe, right? Either you're with Riley and it's awkward or you're not and you aren't nervous together."

"Nothing is impossible. Look, you told me to figure out what I wanted and I did. I want a proper relationship with Riley. Now all we need to do is figure out how to make it work. We'll need some help but I think we can do it."

Maya nodded. "Help should be here in about 2 minutes." She said, looking at her clock. "Farkle is always on time."

"You invited Farkle to our attempted make out session?" asked Lucas, incredulously. "What if we were still kissing when he showed up?"

Maya looked at him deadpan. "Was there really a chance of that?"

Lucas looked defensive. "I… err… ummm…. No. No there wasn't. Sorry."

Farkle came flying in the door. "How is my favorite quasi couple?"

"Not a couple." Replied Lucas.

Farkle looked at Maya for confirmation. "Not a couple?"

"Not a couple. As of tonight, the Lucas and Maya relationship is over. All must wear black in mourning. Well, Farkle, are you ready to be my rebound guy?"

Farkle looked up at the ceiling. "Why couldn't this have happened before I found my soul mate?" He looked back at Maya. "Sorry, my heart belongs to Smackle. Literally actually, she gave me a quarter for it yesterday. I didn't entirely understand why, but contract law is very clear on the matter."

"Ah well, I guess I'll have to find some stranger. Tall, dark, handsome…" she looked over at Lucas. "Not from Texas…"

Farkle patted her shoulder. "You'll find someone. You're wonderful. I've always known that. Anyone but Lucas and I would be lucky to have you."

Maya looked at Farkle strangely. "Thanks. I think…. Anyway, we need your help."

"You need me to come up with a brilliant plan to help Lucas and Riley get back together, this time without all the nervous sitting next to each other and not talking stuff while simultaneously overcoming Riley's still subconsciously held mistaken belief that Lucas is her second brother which you are responsible for putting into her head in the first place. Does that about cover it?" asked Farkle.

"That's it." Said Maya quickly.

Lucas rounded on Maya. "Wait a minute! This whole thinking I was like her brother thing? That's your fault?"

Maya smiled cautiously. "Yep. I'm just a barrel of laughs, aren't I?"

"All this craziness is your fault?" Lucas asked again.

"Umm, the whole sheep riding thing was her idea…" temporized Maya.

"Not that part."

"All right. Yes. It was my fault. But, come on. I saw you two on dates and you couldn't even talk to each other. Heck, you didn't even look at each other. But when you guys were just being friends, you had so much more fun together. And, Lucas, I've seen relationships fail. There was a time where my parents were happy together. But it didn't last and I couldn't stand the idea of you and Riley's friendship eventually ending up ruined. So, I meddled."

"So you came up with the brother thing?" asked Lucas incredulously.

"Hey, what do I know about successful relationships? It's not like I've had a lot of experience with them. I thought it was for the best. Then you and I looked into each other's eyes and got drunk on starlight. I want someone like you, Lucas. I really do. More than I guess I even understand. But, I guess, not actually you. So, are you mad?"

Lucas thought about it. "I guess not. You wanted Riley and me to be together forever, even if it was only as friends. That isn't something I can blame you for." Lucas turned toward Farkle. "Well, do you have any ideas?"

Farkle nodded. "A few. Let's put our heads together and see what we can all put together. I'm thinking that turnabout is fair play..."


	2. Chapter 2

Emotions were going crazy for all four of the best friends but none of them knew how much the other one was suffering. Each was trapped in their heads while they tried to find a path forward.

Luca's walk home from Maya's gave him a lot of time to think. He knew that he loved Maya and Riley, and that he'd love both of them for the rest of his life. But he'd just learned that the way that he loved Maya wasn't exactly the way he'd thought. They were friends. And might have become more if they hadn't had other options. But, well, they did. But what if it turned out the same with Riley as it had with Maya? What if she went to kiss him again and found out that he'd just been an infatuation. Would Riley be able to set aside her hurt feelings and recognize how they really felt?

And if she did, could he go on to date someone else someday? And if so, what would that do to Riley? Would she be able to handle it if she lost that part of him to someone who wasn't even her best friend? And Maya… Maybe there hadn't been any spark between them but Lucas was pretty sure that if Maya wasn't giving him to her best friend, she'd still be trying to figure out a relationship with him.

And the scariest thing he was facing was what to do if he really did love Riley and she really did love him but neither one of them could manage to speak to each other when they were dating again. He didn't think he could stand that possibility without screaming.

Lucas was starting to regret the fact that he'd used up all of his index cards. This was all so complicated that he should probably be taking notes.

Maya looked around her room and sighed. Today had hurt. It had hurt more than she thought heartache ever could. She'd given up a dream today. Sure, she'd released it so that her friend could be happy but that didn't make it hurt any less. She was Maya Hart, girl who stands alone. Or sits alone, since she was on her bed at the moment.

She figured that she'd been kind of stupid to have even gotten her hopes up. Why would someone as wonderful as Lucas really have wanted to be with her? And why didn't she truly want to be with him? He was perfect! How could she even imagine finding a better guy? Was this going to be her one chance to get close to something wonderful but find out that it just wasn't for her? Was that going to be what her life was like?

And what she'd said to Farkle, about him being a rebound guy… Well, she hadn't been kidding as much as she'd thought. He was kind. And secure. And he made her laugh. She'd automatically rejected anything serious with him, even describing her first kiss with him as a Shih Tzu going after a chew toy. But she'd actually been tempted to move her hand out of the way when he'd come at her with that cute little gleam in his eye. And how much of her crushing on Lucas had come from her believing she'd never be good enough for Farkle. Never smart enough. Never wonderful enough. And when he'd gotten close to Smackle, had that tipped her over the edge? Had that prompted this who Riley thinks Lucas is a brother fiasco? She just didn't know.

Maya shoved her head into her pillow and let the tears begin to fall. Farkle had been right when he'd talked about what she needed to do next. She wouldn't be able to move on until she'd taken a little bit of time to mourn.

Riley was pacing around her room kicking a stuffed animal around like a hockey puck. It wasn't something she'd normally do but she was upset and she knew that Mr. Snarkles would forgive her later. That's what stuffed animals were for, right? They were there to help you when you were feeling happy or sad or lonely or… heartbroken. That was the feeling that fit today. Heartbroken. She couldn't see anyway that her relationship triangle with Lucas and Maya could ever turn out well. It's not as if Lucas and Maya would just kiss someday and realize that they didn't truly love each other. Things like that didn't happen. Not even in stories. Not even in her dreams.

Riley knew that she was growing up but she wasn't happy about it. It seemed to require giving up so much of who she truly was. Adults don't give themselves awards. Adults keep their traps shut when they see their friends happily in love, regardless of the silly little threats that Farkle's made. Well, not 'Farkles'. The one and only Farkle. Why had he ruined all of her plans? Maya and Lucas had been happy, hadn't they? She could have lived with how she felt if it meant her friends were happy. But Farkle had ruined that. He'd made her tell the truth. But she didn't think he'd realized what doing that had really cost her. Telling Lucas and Maya how she had really felt had been hard. Harder than anything she'd ever had to do. But it was nothing compared to what admitting it to herself had cost her. It had cost her sleep. It had cost her peace of mind. She'd lost the ability to smile at rainy days.

Farkle kept turning around the phrase 'want to be my rebound guy' in his head. Maya had said that to him when she'd announced that Lucas and her were officially no longer a thing. He'd covered it by talking about Smackle being the love of his life, but really, was she? She'd been getting more and more distant lately. The whole buying his heart thing had been a halfhearted joke that they'd shared to break the tension one afternoon. Asperger's was difficult to understand from the outside but it was just as tough from the inside. Smackle had admitted that she was dating him because she thought she was supposed to. Not because she actually felt anything for him. But she didn't really understand her own feelings anymore and had asked him to be patient. He wasn't sure what that meant for him. If she decided she wanted to end things, what should he do next? Did he wait for a while to see if she was still confused by her own emotions? Or could he actually move on and ask someone else out. Someone like Maya. Maya was the moon to him. The great and mysterious moon who bewitched him without even trying to. In some ways, he'd gotten together with Smackle because he knew things would never happen with his two favorite ladies. Both of them were into Lucas and that's wasn't going to change. Except that it had changed. This afternoon, it had changed beyond his wildest imaginings. Maya was no longer interested in Lucas. He had a chance.


End file.
